Cattle Market Pulse

South Central Regional Stockyards Market Report

Vienna, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 20, 2023

282 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest South Central Regional Stockyards report →

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $232.78/cwt -29.30 vs last sale · ≈ $1,366/hd at 587 lb · 11 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $245.97/cwt +5.97 vs last sale · ≈ $1,282/hd at 521 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 282 1,697 1,623
Feeder cattle 133 1,644 1,496
Slaughter cattle 109 53 127
Replacement cattle 40 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Feeder supply not sufficient to establish a market trend. Slaughter cows steady. Very light pre-holiday offering highlighted by a nice consignment of black/black white face heifers bred to calving ease bulls.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–390 368 6 255.00–282.00 $266.18 $980 -10.82
500–540 521 11 236.00–252.00 $245.97 $1,282 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550–595 unweaned 587 11 231.50–239.00 $232.78 $1,366 —
720 unweaned 720 3 223.50 $223.50 $1,609 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700 700 2 215.00 $215.00 $1,505 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 3 244.00 $244.00 $732 —
355–390 373 4 237.00–245.00 $240.81 $898 +3.56
403 403 3 230.00 $230.00 $927 -5.71
650 650 2 188.00 $188.00 $1,222 —
705–725 716 9 174.00–186.50 $183.48 $1,314 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 3 160.00 $160.00 $920 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–470 460 4 224.00–236.00 $229.87 $1,057 —
505–548 522 5 205.00–241.00 $225.89 $1,179 —
755–770 764 5 172.00–179.00 $176.23 $1,346 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570 570 4 175.00 $175.00 $998 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1370 1268 80-85% 28 86.00–89.50 $88.02 $1,116 +0.13
1350–1435 1407 80-85% 3 90.00–91.00 $90.32 $1,271 —
1225–1560 1465 80-85% 4 78.50–82.00 $79.76 $1,168 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980–1080 1030 85-90% 2 32.00–52.00 $41.51 $428 —
940–1245 1071 85-90% 18 79.00–85.50 $83.30 $892 -1.73
1075–1130 1110 85-90% 5 86.00–88.50 $87.10 $967 +15.10
1025–1395 1140 85-90% 4 72.00–76.00 $73.22 $835 +1.22
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1450–1880 1518 75-80% 8 84.00–90.50 $89.43 $1,358 +1.62

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1395–2185 1699 4 98.00–106.00 $103.35 $1,756 —
1925 1925 1 78.00 $78.00 $1,502 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1035–1105 1066 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 31 2,300.00–2,425.00 $2,377.44

↑ Back to top

Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.